The Impact of Environmental Policies and Innovation on the Investment in and Use of Natural Gas-Fired Combined Cycle Generators in the US Electricity Sector

Developments over the past thirty years have contributed to increased natural gas generation in the US electricity sector. As a result, natural gas generation surpassed coal for the first time in history in 2016. In addition to low natural gas prices, developments with the natural gas-fired combined cycle generator (NGCC) have contributed to the rise of natural gas. In the 1990s, technological innovations led to substantial efficiency gains for NGCC, rendering these generators cleaner and more efficient than other widely available sources of power generation during that period. In the early 2000s, the US experienced the largest short-term increase in generation capacity in history, with over 70% of this new capacity installed as NGCC. Initially, much of the new NGCC capacity only provided power when energy demand was at its highest. Since 2003, NGCC utilization has nearly doubled, and NGCC is increasingly used to provide baseload power. The purpose of this dissertation is to scrutinize these developments with NGCC to better understand how energy and environmental policies influenced the time and location of capacity changes, how this capacity has been used, and the role of technology on both. The first essay in this dissertation evaluates the impact of a government-sponsored research program on NGCC innovations in the 1990s. From 1992-2000, the Department of Energy partnered with two US turbine manufacturers, General Electric (GE) and Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation (SWPC), in a cost-sharing program called the Advanced Turbine System to stimulate efficiency innovations for NGCC technology. Using data from the European Patent Office’s worldwide patent database (PATSTAT), I evaluate innovative activity in advanced turbine technology by the program participants and their competitors. Using a negative binomial model, I find GE increased the volume of their patents towards the end of the program and afterwards, while SWPC had higher patent citations for patents filed during the program relative to competitors. These observed changes in patenting activity merit further investigation into why these changes took place, and how the resulting patents translated into commercialized technologies in the US and abroad. The second essay evaluates the impact of policy anticipation on natural gas capacity growth during a time in which substantial natural gas capacity came online. I hypothesize that areas expecting nonattainment designations resulting from changes in the ozone and particulate matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) rushed to complete installations before new environmental regulations took place in 2004 and 2005. I use EIA and EPA data from 1997-2009 to evaluate the role of policy anticipation on capacity investment with difference-in-difference models. My results show areas expecting nonattainment designations had more natural gas capacity growth than areas not facing nonattainment, on the order of 10% for ozone and 13% for particulate matter, per year. This study thus finds that substantial investment in environmental technology may take place in anticipation of policy changes. The third essay considers how this new natural gas capacity is being used. Recent climate regulations aim to increase utilization of NGCC generators to offset coal generation and, consequently, reduce carbon emissions. There have been substantial increases in utilization for some NGCC generators in the last ten years, but most remain below baseload levels. This paper examines the factors that have driven NGCC utilization to date. I use a random-effects model to evaluate the relationships between environmental policies and natural gas prices on NGCC utilization. I find that both low natural gas prices and cross-state air pollution policies drive increases in utilization; however, the size of the impact by the environmental policies depends on the age of the plant. I use the estimates from this model for a counterfactual analysis which reveals the cross-state air pollution policies have had nearly three times the impact of low natural gas prices on utilization from 2003-2014

Is There a Sex Difference in the Age of Elite Marathon Runners?

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to determine i) if there is a sex difference in the age of the elite marathon runners and ii) if the sex difference in performance altered across the years that women have participated in the marathon. Methods: Age at time of competition and running times of the first five placed male and female runners who competed in the seven marathons of the World Marathon Majors Series were analyzed. Data from as many years as was available online were retrieved so that 410 men and 410 women were included in the analysis. The marathons and years included the Berlin (1999–2009), Boston (2000–2009), Chicago (1997–2009), London (2001–2009), New York City (1990–2009), International Athletic Association Federation World Championship (1983, 1987, and every 2 yr from 1991), and Olympic (every 4 yr since 1984) marathons. Results: Women were older than men (mean ± SD = 29.8 ± 4.2 vs 28.9 ± 3.8 yr), but for only two of the seven marathons, the Chicago and the London marathons (P \u3c 0.05): the sex difference in age was not consistent across the years. There was no sex difference in age for the Berlin, Boston, New York City, World Championship, and Olympic marathons. Men were faster than women (11.6% ± 1.8%). The sex difference in running velocity varied across marathons (least for the World Championships, 10.2%) and also across years, but not systematically. This sex difference in running velocity increased from first to fifth place across all marathons. Conclusions: These data indicate that men and women physiologically peak at a similar age in marathon running performance. The sex difference in performance of elite marathon runners varied across years but has not systemically decreased or varied since the 1980s

Writing on Demand in College, Career, and Community Writing: Preparing Students to Participate in the Pop-Up Parlor

The Writing on Demand Unit is an important part of the College, Career, and Community Writers Program. In this article, we review the literature on C3WP; contextualize the writing on demand unit in relation to the other instructional resources in C3WP; explore five big ideas about writing on demand; and describe an approach to teaching this unit that includes some preliminary results of teaching this unit in a rural, Native American high school. The five big ideas that inform its use are the following: 1) emotions matter, 2) everyone does it, so provide reasons for writing on demand, 3) time is important, 4) reading on demand is a part of writing on demand, and 5) transfer is key. Furthermore, we believe that this unit can potentially improve access and equity in education and that C3WP provides a foundation for the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Education

Achieving change in the NHS: a feasibility study to introduce a home-based cancer chemotherapy service

A major focus of current health policyin the United Kingdom is the development of services that meet the public’s expectations. To achieve this there is a need to evaluate current provision to ensure that the best use is made of finite resources. The studyreported here adopted an interview approach to examine an existing outpatient chemotherapy service, and to consider the feasibilityof introducing a home based model. Following a review of literature on this topic data were obtained from in-depth interviews with patients and professionals regarding the present service. These were then combined with an analysis of service contracts and financial estimates. The poor quality of much of the costrelated information limited the conclusions which could be drawn, and emphasised the need for access to more accessible and robust financial information upon which to base change. The studyalso illustrated the benefits of feasibility studies; especially when cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction are the driving forces behind proposed changes to clinical services

Trip Database: Turning Research into Practice for Evidence-Based Care

Trip Database is a freely available search engine based in the United Kingdom. Trip directs users to journal articles, practice guidelines, and other research to support evidence-based medical practice. This column includes sample searches in both the free version and in the subscription Pro version

A complexity-informed in-depth case study into the sustainability and impact of a culture of health:The TR14ers community youth dance group

Funding: This study was funded by the NIHR Rapid Funding Scheme (NIHR127482 to KW, AJW and LP, https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/public-health-research-programme-rapid-funding-scheme/20247). This paper is independent research and KMW is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula.There are calls for researchers to study existing community assets and activities that appear to improve health and have achieved longevity. The TR14ers Community Dance Charity Limited is a community youth dance group that has been running since 2005 providing free weekly sessions for children and adolescents in an economically disadvantaged town in the UK. An in-depth case study employing qualitative, quantitative and participatory methods was undertaken with the TR14ers (current participants and those who have left, co-ordinators and families) over 6 months with the aim of understanding the sustainable processes and impact of the Group. The 12 complex systems’ leverage points described by Meadows and the five domains of adolescent wellbeing developed by the United Nations H6+ Technical Working Group on Adolescent Health and Well-Being were used as frameworks to recognise the complexity of community assets like the TR14ers. The quantitative and qualitative data indicated that being part of the TR14ers contributed to multiple health and wellbeing outcomes. The positive experiences of being a TR14er led members to actively recruit others through word of mouth and public performances. Central to the TR14ers is a commitment to children’s rights, which is communicated formally and informally throughout the membership informing how and what the Group does, leading to the structure and delivery of the Group evolving over time. Members sought to ensure the sustainability of the Group after they had left and were keen to mentor younger members to develop and become the leaders. Based on the insights from this case study we suggest that efforts to develop cultures of health, like the TR14ers, should focus on the core values of the activity or intervention that underpin what it does and how within the local context.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Functional connectivity during a social emotion task in adolescents and in adults

In this fMRI study we investigated functional connectivity between components of the mentalising system during a social emotion task, using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis. Ten adults (22–32 years) and 18 adolescents (11–18 years) were scanned while thinking about scenarios in which a social or a basic emotion would be experienced. Unlike basic emotions (such as disgust and fear), social emotions (such as embarrassment and guilt) require the representation of another's mental states. In both adults and adolescents, an anterior rostral region of medial prefrontal cortex (arMPFC) involved in mentalising showed greater connectivity with the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) bordering on the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and with anterior temporal cortex (ATC) during social than during basic emotion. This result provides novel evidence that components of the mentalising system interact functionally during a social emotion task. Furthermore, functional connectivity differed between adolescence and adulthood. The adolescent group showed stronger connectivity between arMPFC and pSTS/TPJ during social relative to basic emotion than did the adult group, suggestive of developmental changes in functional integration within the mentalising system

Achieving change in the NHS: a feasibility study to introduce a home-based cancer chemotherapy service

A major focus of current health policyin the United Kingdom is the development of services that meet the public’s expectations. To achieve this there is a need to evaluate current provision to ensure that the best use is made of finite resources. The studyreported here adopted an interview approach to examine an existing outpatient chemotherapy service, and to consider the feasibilityof introducing a home based model. Following a review of literature on this topic data were obtained from in-depth interviews with patients and professionals regarding the present service. These were then combined with an analysis of service contracts and financial estimates. The poor quality of much of the costrelated information limited the conclusions which could be drawn, and emphasised the need for access to more accessible and robust financial information upon which to base change. The studyalso illustrated the benefits of feasibility studies; especially when cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction are the driving forces behind proposed changes to clinical services

An Omentum-inspired 3D PEG Hydrogel for Identifying ECM-drivers of Drug Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer (OvCa) is a challenging disease to treat due to poor screening techniques and late diagnosis. There is an urgent need for additional therapy options, as patients recur in 70% of cases. The limited availability of clinical treatment options could be a result of poor predictions in early stage drug screens on standard tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS). TCPS does not capture the mechanical and biochemical cues that cells experience in vivo, which can impact how cells will respond to a drug. Therefore, an in vitro model that captures some of the microenvironment features that the cells experience in vivo could provide better insights into drug responses. In this study, we formed 3D multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) in microwells and encapsulated them in 3D omentum-inspired hydrogels. SKOV-3 MCTS were resistant to Paclitaxel in our 3D hydrogels compared to a monolayer on TCPS. Toward clinical application, we tested cells from patients [ovarian carcinoma ascites spheroids (OCAS)] who had been treated with Paclitaxel, and drug responses predicted by using the 3D omentum-inspired hydrogels demonstrated the lack of the Paclitaxel response of these samples. Additionally, we observed the presence of collagen production around the encapsulated SKOV-3 MCTS, but not significantly on TCPS. Our results demonstrated that our 3D omentum-inspired hydrogel is an improved in vitro drug testing platform to study the OvCa drug response for patient-derived cells and helped us identify collagen 3 as a potential driver of Paclitaxel resistance in 3D

Modelling the species jump: towards assessing the risk of human infection from novel avian influenzas

The scientific understanding of the driving factors behind zoonotic and pandemic influenzas is hampered by complex interactions between viruses, animal hosts and humans. This complexity makes identifying influenza viruses of high zoonotic or pandemic risk, before they emerge from animal populations, extremely difficult and uncertain. As a first step towards assessing zoonotic risk of Influenza, we demonstrate a risk assessment framework to assess the relative likelihood of influenza A viruses, circulating in animal populations, making the species jump into humans. The intention is that such a risk assessment framework could assist decisionmakers to compare multiple influenza viruses for zoonotic potential and hence to develop appropriate strain-specific control measures. It also provides a first step towards showing proof of principle for an eventual pandemic risk model. We show that the spatial and temporal epidemiology is as important in assessing the risk of an influenza A species jump as understanding the innate molecular capability of the virus.We also demonstrate data deficiencies that need to be addressed in order to consistently combine both epidemiological and molecular virology data into a risk assessment framework